Portable electronic device with keyboard

ABSTRACT

A keyboard ( 32, 1230 ) for a handheld electronic device ( 100, 1100, 1200 ) comprising a row of keys ( 102 ) wherein each of said keys ( 102 ) represents at least two alphanumeric characters and the characters of each key ( 102 ) are positioned relative to the characters on adjacent keys ( 102 ) so as to form a QWERTY or DVORAK layout.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of small handheldelectronic devices such as wireless communications devices. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to keyboards for use in suchdevices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Existing keyboards or keypads for small handheld devices often use thestandard 12-key telephone keypads (herein collectively referred to askeypads). Typing text using such keypads requires the user to input datain an unfamiliar manner. Other kinds of keyboards follow the standardDvorak or, more commonly, the QWERTY keyboard models and are used inportable handheld devices such as the RIM 950 Wireless Handheld™. Thiskind of keyboard when adapted to handheld devices uses a plurality ofsmall individual keys optimised for operation with the thumbs of theuser. However, such a keyboard has considerably more keys than a keypadand the larger number of individual keys requires more space on aprinted circuit board (PCB) than a keypad. Each key requires its ownfootprint and switch on the PCB. Because of the relatively small size ofsuch handheld devices, PCB space is limited and a QWERTY or Dvorak typekeyboard takes up valuable real estate on the PCB.

Such a keyboard also requires a great deal of tooling in order toaccommodate the large number of individual keys in the housing of ahandheld device. This tooling adds to manufacturing costs.

It is, therefore, desirable to reduce the number of keys necessary for aQWERTY or Dvorak type keyboard layout used with small handheld devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate at leastone disadvantage of existing keyboards or keypads used with handheldelectronic devices.

In a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a keyboardfor an electronic device. The keyboard has a plurality of alphanumerickeys, each alphanumeric key corresponding to a plurality of alphanumericvalues, each key for providing an input signal corresponding to at leastone of the corresponding alphanumeric values of the key, the pluralityof keys arranged to provide a standard keyboard layout, as well as anon-alphanumeric key for providing an input signal corresponding to acommand key value. The plurality of alphanumeric keys and thenon-alphanumeric key provide input to a keystroke interpreter which mapsthe received inputs to a sequence of alphanumeric and command values.

In embodiments of the present invention the keyboard layout is either aconventional QWERTY layout or a conventional Dvorak layout. In otherembodiments, the plurality of keys provides one input signal, each ofthe keys has a single protruberance from an underside of said key whichis adapted to engage a switching element located upon a printed circuitboard underlying said keyboard and the keystroke interpreter employspredictive text routines for mapping the received inputs to a sequenceof alphanumeric and command values. In another embodiment each key ofthe plurality of keys provides a plurality of distinct input signalsthat correspond to one of the alphanumeric values of the key which hasplural protruberances from an underside of said key which are adapted toengage corresponding switching elements located upon a printed circuitboard underlying said keyboard and the keystroke interpreter employspredictive text routines for mapping the received inputs to a sequenceof alphanumeric and command values In another embodiment the keys arearranged as a row that extends along a horizontal reference line throughthe handheld electronic device and said keys are of elongated shape withtheir longitudinal axes parallel to or tilted from a vertical referenceline through the handheld electronic device, where a first group of keysis located on one side of said vertical reference line and a secondgroup is located on an opposite side of said vertical reference line,said first group being tilted at a positive angle with respect to saidvertical reference line and said second group being tilted at acorresponding negative angle with respect to said vertical referenceline.

In a further embodiment the keys are arranged as a row that extendsalong a vertical reference line through the handheld electronic deviceand said keys are of elongated shape with their longitudinal axesparallel to or tilted from a horizontal reference line through thehandheld electronic device, wherein a first group of keys is located onone side of said horizontal reference line and a second group of keys islocated on an opposite side of said horizontal reference line, saidfirst group being tilted at a positive angle with respect to saidhorizontal reference line and said second group being tilted at acorresponding negative angle with respect to said horizontal referenceline. In a presently preferred embodiment the keys are angled betweenabout 20 degrees and about 70 degrees from vertical. In yet anotherembodiment the non-alphanumeric key corresponds to one of the groupconsisting of an ALT key, a SYMBOL key, a SPACE key, a RETURN key, aBACKSPACE key and a SHIFT key.

In a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a handheldelectronic device that has a keyboard, a microprocessor and a softwareapplication. The keyboard has a plurality of alphanumeric keys, eachalphanumeric key corresponding to a plurality of alphanumeric values,each key for providing an input signal corresponding to at least one ofthe corresponding alphanumeric values of the key, the plurality of keysarranged to provide a standard keyboard layout, a non-alphanumeric keyfor providing an input signal corresponding to a command key value, anda keystroke interpreter for receiving the input signals from theplurality of alphanumeric keys and from the non-alphanumeric key and formapping the received inputs to a sequence of alphanumeric and commandvalues. The microprocessor is operatively connected to the keyboard forreceiving the sequence of alphanumeric and command values, and controlsthe operation of the device. The software application is executable bythe microprocessor, and provides a plurality of operational features andinitiating such features upon certain inputs from the keyboard. In apresently preferred embodiment of this aspect the handheld electronicdevice further includes a display. In another embodiment the keyboardinterpreter of the keyboard employs predictive text routines for mappingthe received inputs to a sequence of alphanumeric and command values.

Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparentto those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the followingdescription of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction withthe accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile communication device to which thepresent invention may be applied;

FIG. 2 comprises:

FIG. 2A is a plan view of a keyboard in accordance with one embodimentshowing a user's thumb over a first key;

FIG. 2B is a plan view of a keyboard in accordance with one embodimentshowing a user's thumb over a second key; and

FIG. 2C is a plan view of a keyboard in accordance with one embodimentshowing a user's thumb over a third key;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a keyboard in accordance with a furtherembodiment of the invention, applied to a different type of handhelddevice;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a portion of the reverse side of the keyboardshown in FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a portion of the reverse side of anotherembodiment of the keyboard shown in FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a further embodiment of the handheld devicethat has a touch display with an alphabetic key arrangement; and

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 6 that has a touchdisplay with a numeric key arrangement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobilecommunication device 10 in which the present invention may beimplemented. The mobile communication device 10 is preferably a two-waycommunication device having at least voice and data communicationcapabilities. The device preferably has the capability to communicatewith other computer systems on the Internet. Depending on thefunctionality provided by the device, the device may be referred to as adata messaging device, a two-way pager, a cellular telephone with datamessaging capabilities, a wireless Internet appliance or a datacommunication device (with or without telephony capabilities).

Where the device 10 is enabled for two-way communications, the devicewill incorporate a communication subsystem 11, including a receiver 12,a transmitter 14, and associated components such as one or more,preferably embedded or internal, antenna elements 16 and 18, localoscillators (LOs) 13, and a processing module such as a digital signalprocessor (DSP) 20. As will be apparent to those skilled in the field ofcommunications, the particular design of the communication subsystem 11will be dependent upon the communication network in which the device isintended to operate. For example, a device 10 destined for a NorthAmerican market may include a communication subsystem 11 designed tooperate within the Mobitex™ mobile communication system or DataTACT™mobile communication system, whereas a device 10 intended for use inEurope may incorporate a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)communication subsystem 11.

Network access requirements will also vary depending upon the type ofnetwork 19. For example, in the Mobitex and DataTAC networks, mobiledevices such as device 10 are registered on the network using a uniquepersonal identification number or PIN associated with each device. InGPRS networks however, network access is associated with a subscriber oruser of a device 10. A GPRS device therefore requires a subscriberidentity module (not shown), commonly referred to as a SIM card, inorder to operate on a GPRS network. Without a SIM card, a GPRS devicewill not be fully functional. Local or non-network communicationfunctions (if any) may be operable, but the device 10 will be unable tocarry out any functions involving communications over network 19. Whenrequired network registration or activation procedures have beencompleted, a device 10 may send and receive communication signals overthe network 19. Signals received by the antenna 16 through acommunication network 19 are input to the receiver 12, which may performsuch common receiver functions as signal amplification, frequency downconversion, filtering, channel selection and the like, and in theexample system shown in FIG. 1, analog to digital conversion. Analog todigital conversion of a received signal allows more complexcommunication functions such as demodulation and decoding to beperformed in the DSP 20. In a similar manner, signals to be transmittedare processed, including modulation and encoding for example, by the DSP20 and input to the transmitter 14 for digital to analog conversion,frequency up conversion, filtering, amplification and transmission overthe communication network 19 via the antenna 18.

The DSP 20 not only processes communication signals, but also providesfor receiver and transmitter control. For example, the gains applied tocommunication signals in the receiver 12 and transmitter 14 may beadaptively controlled through automatic gain control algorithmsimplemented in the DSP 20.

The device 10 preferably includes a microprocessor 38 that controls theoverall operation of the device. Communication functions, including atleast data and voice communications, are performed through thecommunication subsystem 11. The microprocessor 38 also interacts withfurther device subsystems such as the display 22, flash memory 24,random access memory (RAM) 26, auxiliary input/output (I/O) subsystems28, serial port 30, keyboard 32, speaker 34, microphone 36, ashort-range communications subsystem 40 and any other device subsystemsgenerally designated as 42.

Some of the subsystems shown in FIG. 1 perform communication-relatedfunctions, whereas other subsystems may provide “resident” or on-devicefunctions. Notably, some subsystems, such as keyboard 32 and display 22for example, may be used for both communication-related functions, suchas entering a text message for transmission over a communicationnetwork, and device-resident functions such as a calculator or tasklist.

Operating system software used by the microprocessor 38 is preferablystored in a persistent store such as flash memory 24, which may insteadbe a read only memory (ROM) or similar storage element (not shown).Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the operating system,specific device applications, or parts thereof, may be temporarilyloaded into a volatile store such as RAM 26. It is contemplated thatreceived communication signals may also be stored to RAM 26.

The microprocessor 38, in addition to its operating system functions,preferably enables execution of software applications on the device. Apredetermined set of applications which control basic device operations,including at least data and voice communication applications forexample, will normally be installed on the device 10 during manufacture.A preferred application that may be loaded onto the device may be apersonal information manager (PIM) application having the ability toorganize and manage data items relating to the device user such as, butnot limited to e-mail, calendar events, voice mails, appointments, andtask items. Naturally, one or more memory stores would be available onthe device to facilitate storage of PIM data items on the device. SuchPIM application would preferably have the ability to send and receivedata items, via the wireless network. In a preferred embodiment, the PIMdata items are seamlessly integrated, synchronized and updated, via thewireless network, with the device user's corresponding data items storedor associated with a host computer system thereby creating a mirroredhost computer on the mobile device with respect to the data items atleast. This would be especially advantageous in the case where the hostcomputer system is the mobile device user's office computer system.Further applications may also be loaded onto the device 10 through thenetwork 19, an auxiliary I/O subsystem 28, serial port 30, short-rangecommunications subsystem 40 or any other suitable subsystem 42, andinstalled by a user in the RAM 26 or preferably a non-volatile store(not shown) for execution by the microprocessor 38. Such flexibility inapplication installation increases the functionality of the device andmay provide enhanced on-device functions, communication-relatedfunctions, or both. For example, secure communication applications mayenable electronic commerce functions and other such financialtransactions to be performed using the device 10.

In a data communication mode, a received signal such as a text messageor web page download will be processed by the communication subsystem 11and input to the microprocessor 38, which will preferably furtherprocess the received signal for output to the display 22, oralternatively to an auxiliary I/O device 28. A user of device 10 mayalso compose data items such as email messages for example, using thekeyboard 32, which is preferably a complete alphanumeric keyboard ortelephone-type keypad, in conjunction with the display 22 and possiblyan auxiliary I/O device 28. Such composed items may then be transmittedover a communication network through the communication subsystem 11.

For voice communications, overall operation of the device 10 issubstantially similar, except that received signals would preferably beoutput to a speaker 34 and signals for transmission would be generatedby a microphone 36. Alternative voice or audio I/O subsystems such as avoice message recording subsystem may also be implemented on the device10. Although voice or audio signal output is preferably accomplishedprimarily through the speaker 34, the display 22 may also be used toprovide an indication of the identity of a calling party, the durationof a voice call, or other voice call related information for example.

The serial port 30 in FIG. 1 would normally be implemented in a personaldigital assistant (PDA)-type communication device for whichsynchronization with a user's desktop computer (not shown) may bedesirable, but is an optional device component. Such a port 30 wouldenable a user to set preferences through an external device or softwareapplication and would extend the capabilities of the device by providingfor information or software downloads to the device 10 other thanthrough a wireless communication network. The alternate download pathmay for example be used to load an encryption key onto the devicethrough a direct and thus reliable and trusted connection to therebyenable secure device communication.

A short-range communications subsystem 40 is a further optionalcomponent which may provide for communication between the device 24 anddifferent systems or devices, which need not necessarily be similardevices. For example, the subsystem 40 may include an infrared deviceand associated circuits and components or a Bluetooth™ communicationmodule to provide for communication with similarly enabled systems anddevices.

Thus, it will be apparent that handheld devices of this type perform awide variety of complex functions and it is a challenge to provide akeyboard which is sufficiently compact to match the form factor of thehandheld device but which provides the necessary level of functionalityrequired by the user

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a handheld device 100 incorporating a keyboard32 of an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, thekeyboard consists of a horizontal array of ten adjacent elongated keys102. Each key represents a plurality of alphanumeric characters. Thealphanumeric characters are positioned on the keys such that thekeyboard will have a standard QWERTY layout but if desired, thearrangement could be modified to form a standard Dvorak layout.Therefore, each key 102 represents a plurality of different alphanumericcharacter inputs depending on its position on the keyboard. For example,the key furthest to the left represents a text input of ‘1’, ‘Q’ and‘A’. Although the example shown in FIG. 2 includes alphanumeric keysrepresenting two to four different inputs, each key may represent moreor fewer inputs that can include any combination of alphabetic and/ornumeric symbols. The invention is in no way limited to the specificcharacter assignments in FIG. 2.

In a presently preferred embodiment, the keys are at an angle relativeto vertical. It has been found that having the keys at an angle relativeto vertical eases typing with thumbs. Preferably the keys on the rightside of the keyboard are rotated clockwise, while the keys on the leftside of the keyboard are rotated counter-clockwise. Complementary anglesranging from 20 degrees to 70 degrees are preferably used.

The keyboard may also include other non-alphanumeric, or command, keyssuch as a symbol key 104. Such a key may access symbols or alternativefunctions when depressed in conjunction with the depression of anotherkey or an auxiliary input. A SPACE key 106, RETURN key 110, andBACKSPACE key 112, may also be provided in similar relative positions tothose of a typical QWERTY keyboard. A SHIFT key 108 may also be providedto access upper case letters when depressed in conjunction withalphanumeric inputs. Typical handheld devices will include a display118, and possibly one or more auxiliary input devices, such as athumbwheel 116.

This arrangement allows the user's thumbs more accuracy when depressingthe keys than would be possible if each input were represented by anindividual key, since individual keys would be have to be very small inorder to fit the form factor of a compact handheld device. Thisarrangement is also less costly to produce than a keyboard where asingle key represents each input since less tooling would be requiredfor the housing of the handheld device and the mould for the keys wouldbe less intricate.

FIG. 3 shows a similar keyboard in another kind of handheld device 1100,which has a different form factor than the device 100 and may forexample be a cellular telephone. The keyboard is positioned alongsidethe display 118 and is particularly useful in this embodiment becausethe keys 102 are laid out in a natural order for the user to easily use.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the reverse side of a portion of a keyboardthat would face the interior of a device in which the keyboard isimplemented. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, such keyboardsmay be manufactured in a web form, such that the keyboard is effectivelya single component, comprising a plurality of independently displaceablekeys formed in substantially planar pliable base material. Each key 102has a protuberance 200 on the reverse side. This protuberance comes intocontact with a switch on a circuit board located within the handhelddevice when the key is depressed. In a presently preferred embodiment,one of the command keys serves as a number lock key. To enter a numericvalue, the number lock key is depressed so that the keyboard intrepreterrecognises the following key value as the corresponding numeric value ofthe key. In a further embodiment, the number keys are disjoint from thealphabetic keys, obviating the need to depress a number lock key, andstill providing a non-ambiguous numeric input. In this embodiment, thealphabetic keys still correspond to a plurality of alphabetic values.The handheld device preferably uses some predictive text softwareapplication in order to deduce what the user is spelling. For example,if the user were to depress the left most key on the keyboard of FIGS. 2and 3, the software would determine whether the user intends to enter a‘Q’, or an ‘A’. This may be initiated, for example, by appropriateinputs from the user through further keyboard or auxiliary inputs.Predictive text routines, as embodied in either Motorola iTaP™ or TegicT9® Text input are known to the art, and either these, or otherpredictive text routines can be employed. Such predictive textapplications tend to become more accurate and thus more useful withsubsequent keystrokes, as the “root” term upon which a prediction isbased increases in length. As such, it is contemplated that thepredictive text application may be activated after a certain number ofkeystrokes have been made, such that a root term has a predeterminedminimum length. Until that point is reached, the initial characters inthe minimum length root term may be manually selected in various ways,for example by depressing a key multiple times, by holding a key in adepressed position, or by operating a further key or input while holdinga key in a depressed position.

Predictive text routines are typically executed by a keystrokeinterpreter which receives signals generated by the depressing of eitherthe alphanumeric or the non-alphanumeric keys. It should be noted thatcommon digital cellular phone employ non-predictive text routines whichcould easily be adapted by one of skill in the art for use in thekeystroke interpreter of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of a reverse side of the keyboardweb. Each key 102 has a plurality of protuberances 202 which preferablymatch the location of each input character marked on the individual keyon the topside of the keyboard web. For example, a protuberance 202would be located under the ‘1’ input on the leftmost key of thekeyboard. That key would preferably also have a protuberance 202 undereach of the ‘Q’ and ‘A’ inputs, totalling three protuberances on thisparticular key. Each protuberance 202 is associated with a switch on therelated printed circuit board, such that when the user depresses the keyin the location of the input character, that input will be entered as atext or numeric value. Predictive text software applications may also beimplemented for this embodiment to predict what the user intends toenter, in case the user depresses a key in an incorrect location or morethan one of the protuberances 202 makes contact with its associatedswitch on the PCB.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a further embodiment of the present invention.Handheld device 1200 has an electronic touch display 1210, which in apresently preferred embodiment is a touch sensitive liquid crystaldisplay as is known to those of skill in the art. Display 1210 isdivided into a virtual keyboard 1230, and a viewing area 1220. Thealphanumeric keys of keyboard 1230, each have a plurality ofalphanumeric values, and are arranged to provide a QWERTY keyboardlayout, though a Dvorak layout can be implemented without departing fromthe scope of the present invention. Virtual keyboard 1230 has a soft‘num’ key 1240, which toggles the displayed keyboard between analphabetic keyboard and a numeric key arrangement 1250 of FIG. 7. Thevirtual keyboard of FIG. 8 has numeric keys 1250 and a soft ‘txt’ key1260 which is used to toggle back to the alphabetic display of FIG. 6.In the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7, larger soft keys can be provided tothe user than if individual keys were used, which is advantageous on asmall device such as handheld 1200. In operation, the user touches thesoft key that corresponds to the desired value. The touch screengenerates an input signal corresponding to the touched key, and relaysthe signal to the keystroke interpreter, which optionally usespredictive text input routines to create an input stream provided to therest of handheld 1200. As described earlier, it is possible to have eachkey generate a plurality of input signals depending upon the location atwhich contact with the key is made. With the virtual keyboard, it ispossible to provide the keystroke interpreter with an input signal thathas a probability of representing different values based on the locationat which the key was depressed. These probability values can then beused by the predictive text routines to provide more accurate predictionof the text. It will be obvious to one of skill in the art that thearrangement of the command keys on display 1210 can be varied to providedifferent arrangement without departing from the scope of the presentinvention. It is foreseeable that another means of toggling betweenalphabetic and numeric entry could be implemented using another keyarrangement.

The above-described embodiments of the present invention are intended tobe examples only. Alterations, modifications and variations may beeffected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the artwithout departing from the scope of the invention, which is definedsolely by the claims appended hereto.

1. A handheld electronic wireless communication device comprising: adisplay located above a keyboard; and said keyboard comprising a row ofa plurality of elongate alphanumeric keys, each elongate alphanumerickey having a plurality of associated alphanumeric values positioned oneabove the others and each elongate alphanumeric key being oriented sothat a lengthwise axis of each key is substantially upright oriented;wherein the lengthwise axis of a plurality of alphanumeric keys locatedon a right side of a vertical centerline of the keyboard forms an anglewith the vertical centerline and is rotated clockwise from the verticalcenterline; and wherein the lengthwise axis of a plurality ofalphanumeric keys located on a left side of the vertical centerline ofthe keyboard forms an angle with the vertical centerline and is rotatedcounterclockwise from the vertical centerline and whereby thumbactuation of each of said keys is facilitated during user operation ofthe handheld electronic wireless communication device.
 2. The handheldelectronic wireless communication device according to claim 1, whereinan angle of inclination of at least a plurality of said elongate keys isbetween about 20 degrees and about 70 degrees relative to vertical. 3.The handheld electronic wireless communication device according to claim1, further comprising a microprocessor and software that performspredictive text routines on signals from actuated keys.
 4. The handheldelectronic wireless communication device according to claim 1, furthercomprising a keystroke interpreter operating on a microprocessor of saiddevice.
 5. The handheld electronic wireless communication deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein said keyboard has a width approximatelyequal to a width of said display.
 6. The handheld electronic wirelesscommunication device according to claim 1, wherein said keyboard has awidth approximately equal to a width of said device.
 7. The handheldelectronic wireless communication device according to claim 1, furthercomprising an auxiliary input located above said keyboard.
 8. Thehandheld electronic wireless communication device according to claim 1,further comprising a rotary auxiliary input located above said keyboard.9. The handheld electronic wireless communication device according toclaim 1, further comprising a rotary auxiliary input locatedhorizontally adjacent to said display.
 10. The handheld electronicwireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein saidplurality of associated alphanumeric values comprise alphabeticcharacters arranged in a standard keyboard layout.
 11. The handheldelectronic wireless communication device according to claim 1, whereinsaid plurality of associated alphanumeric values comprise alphabeticcharacters arranged in a QWERTY keyboard layout.
 12. The handheldelectronic wireless communication device according to claim 1, whereinsaid plurality of associated alphanumeric values comprise alphabeticcharacters arranged in horizontal rows.
 13. The handheld electronicwireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein at least aportion of said plurality of alphanumeric keys have at least threesubstantially vertically arranged alphabetic values associatedtherewith.
 14. The handheld electronic wireless communication deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the plurality of alphanumeric keys isprovided by an electronic touch display.
 15. The handheld electronicwireless communication device according to claim 14, wherein theelectronic touch display is a touch sensitive liquid crystal display.16. The handheld electronic wireless communication device according toclaim 1, wherein each of said keys has a single protuberance from anunderside of said key which is adapted to engage a switching elementlocated upon a printed circuit board underlying said keyboard.
 17. Thehandheld electronic wireless communication device according to claim 1,wherein said plurality of keys is arranged as a single row that extendsparallel to a horizontal reference line through the device.
 18. Thehandheld electronic wireless communication device according to claim 1,wherein said keyboard further comprises an elongate SPACE key positionedbelow said plurality of vertically elongate alphanumeric keys.
 19. Thehandheld electronic wireless communication device according to claim 1,wherein said keyboard further comprises a RETURN key positioned in alower right-hand corner of said keyboard.
 20. A keyboard for a handheldelectronic wireless communication device, said keyboard comprising a rowof a plurality of elongate alphanumeric keys, each elongate alphanumerickey having a plurality of associated alphanumeric values positioned oneabove the others and each elongate alphanumeric key being oriented sothat a lengthwise axis of each key is substantially upright oriented;wherein the lengthwise axis of a plurality of alphanumeric keys locatedon a right side of a vertical centerline of the keyboard forms an anglewith the vertical centerline and is rotated clockwise from the verticalcenterline; and wherein the lengthwise axis of a plurality ofalphanumeric keys located on a left side of the vertical centerline ofthe keyboard forms an angle with the vertical centerline and is rotatedcounterclockwise from the vertical centerline and whereby thumbactuation of each of said keys is facilitated during user operation ofthe handheld electronic wireless communication device.
 21. The keyboardaccording to claim 20, wherein an angle of inclination of at least aplurality of said elongate keys is between about 20 degrees and about 70degrees relative to vertical.
 22. The keyboard according to claim 20,wherein said plurality of associated alphanumeric values comprisealphabetic characters arranged in a QWERTY keyboard layout.
 23. Thekeyboard according to claim 20, wherein said plurality of associatedalphanumeric values comprise alphabetic characters arranged inhorizontal rows.
 24. The keyboard according to claim 20, wherein atleast a portion of said plurality of alphanumeric keys have at leastthree substantially vertically arranged alphabetic values associatedtherewith.
 25. The keyboard according to claim 20, wherein said keyboardfurther comprises an elongate SPACE key positioned below said pluralityof vertically elongate alphanumeric keys and a RETURN key positioned ina lower right-hand corner of said keyboard.